There's no doubt about the benefits of a good environment. I had someone the other day asking the commission, just because he thought we might know, about the design of a large new office. He wanted to know how to design it to promote mental health among his workers. So we did a bit of research on it.
Recently, I heard a physician on CBC Radio who discovered, through her own physical illness, the healing environment of place in which she received care. She's made it a career and has written books about it. I can give you that information, if you'd like. But there's absolutely no doubt about what you were saying.
Here's a vignette for you. Back in 1966, I was the superintendent of the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women. Can you imagine a guy doing that? They couldn't find a lady to do it, ladies. I was there for three or four years. We disposed of that institution and built the Vanier Centre for Women in Brampton. At the Mercer Reformatory for Women, people were carving their bodies in all sorts of grotesque ways. They were mostly teenage women cutting themselves as though to cut their wrists. They weren't really trying to kill themselves, but they were damaging their bodies and disturbing things terribly. When we moved to the new institution in Brampton, which had an entirely different physical facility, that behaviour stopped. It didn't occur after that. It was like pulling the blind up or down. It was the most amazing part of the change that we made. There were all sorts of other good things we were doing there—treatment programs, shop programs, and group therapy. But the change in environment stands out. It helped a lot.